Somehow....Injuries and International Signings

The Berserkers have had a couple of surprises, some welcomed and some rude, over the last month.

In the unfortunate category is the decimation of their SS position.   After a relatively healthy first half of the season, Minnesota has been hit by injuries and left scrambling to find replacements for their SS position the entire month.  

Sam Harper, who won the job out of spring training, was not an elite shortstop, but he had posted a .742 OPS and a +4.5 ZR this season and totaled a 1.3 WAR before going down for four months in early July.

This left the position to Luis "Too" Rodriguez.  Rodriguez was in his sophomore season and had proven to be, overall, a very similar player to Harper, even if his hitting wasn't quite as good as last season.  While he struggled against RHP, he did have a .908 OPS against lefties and had a 4.2 ZR at SS in about half the innings that Harper had.   Rodriguez went down on July 20th for 6 weeks.

Veteran utility man, Artie Carlson, who had been called up after Harper's injury to come off the bench and was the next logical starter on the depth chart made it just one day in the starting lineup before going down for 3 weeks himself.   His bat will not be missed, but his fielding versatility might.

This left the team with two options, promote more promising infield prospects who clearly weren't ready in Walt Carter and Lou Townsend.  If this had been a more minor injury with the possibility of giving these guys a small taste, that might have been the best option.

As it was, the Berserkers need a longer term solution and didn't want to harm the development of any younger players.  That left them with with a young glove only Joshua Johnston and another veteran minor leaguer who will make his ABL debut: Tetsu Nishimura, whose nickname "Turtle" is apropos considering the speed with which he reached the majors.

It's rumored that Minnesota may go to the trade market, especially as they have the pleasant surprise of finding themselves tied for first, despite the group of injuries to these players and others.

Which brings us to one of the pleasant surprises.  The Berserkers went in for just a couple of international free agents, and while they ended up overspending and will be limited next season, they did so by spending just $7.1M.   They won't be financially limited in other respects next season.

The first player they picked up was one of the better all-around infielders in the IFA pool, Fernando Botelheiro, who has the potential for an elite eye, but was overall rated as just a 2.5 star potential player.  This was actually the only player the front office expected to get.

In addition, they picked up Yoshiki Yamamoto, a 17 year-old they hope develops into a high contact, power hitting CF.   At just 17 and lots of space to grow, he may end up changing positions, but Minnesota's scout had him ranked him as a 4 star potential.

Finally, the snagged the player their scout thought was the best pitcher in the draft, Alphonso Martinez.  Martinez already has a massive 5 pitch repertoire and was thought to be one of the hardest working players in the IFA pool.   His potential for elite control and good movement, mixed with decent stuff  --despite throwing under 90MPH -- mean this guy could be a front of the rotation pitcher.  As his arm strengthens, who knows how he might improve.   Minnesota felt like they got a deal in Martinez, spending just $5m for this promising young player.

Extension Rumors Swirling in Minnesota

It's early in the season, but Minnesota GM, Alex Wobbema, apparently wants to put one of the biggest questions of the offseason to rest: Where will Peter Blanchard be?
  

Minnesota inside baseball reporter, Warren Dolfson, reports that there is an offer on the table and that it is reportedly, "shockingly small."

Blanchard reportedly was asking for a 5-year deal for 60M before the season started.  That, in and of itself, seems like a low asking price from the slugger, especially since he is just 24 and his a career .335/.402/.610 hitter who has 258 HR over his 6+ years in the league.

However, there are some concerning signs that had the Berserkers shopping Blanchard last season on what was then an extremely friendly contract.   Blanchard's bat, despite his age, has been slowing down.   After his first three seasons, where he hit for an average of  .377, .381, and .355, his best season is .313.   K/BB rates have also dropped in that time.    These are not promising signs in a 24 year-old who is already mostly locked into a DH role.

This has some of the more critical and active blogosphere in Minnesota saying they should give him a qualifying offer and take the pick or simply let the young slugger go, save the money and open up a spot that is relatively easy to fill in the ABL, especially with MNs slugger heavy minor league system, where there are players, older than Blanchard, who the team can't find a spot for and would be on most team's rosters.  

But, it's tough to simply cast aside a consistent 35-40+ HR a season, and a player who is very popular, both with the fan base and nationwide.  Because of that, Dolfson is reporting that the Berserker's reached out to Blanchard again and that, when they did, his starting point had come down significantly. The rumor is that the final offer discussed is roughly $6M/year for three years and that Blanchard is seriously considering.

If true, it would be a no-brainer for Minnesota. If Blanchard has continues to decline and can't ever find his original swing, it's a low risk to take as he is still likely to put up very good numbers for a couple of years.  On the other hand, for Blanchard, if he regains his former swing, he'll still be just 27 and will be looking at a very big payday.